A band of brothers: Four Oehmes on BV Lynx roster is turning heads in South Dakota’s high school wrestling scene

You could forgive the PA announcer for doing a double-take when the Brandon Valley wrestling team hits the road for a match.

Scanning the roster, one name certainly jumps off the page.

The Lynx feature four brothers, all on the varsity roster.

Seniors Trason (145 pounds) and Jordon (132) along with junior Trevon (113) and eighth-grader Brendan (106) are four Oehme brothers that have helped Brandon Valley retain the No. 1 Class A ranking once again this year.

“I’ve had brothers come through the program, but never that many on the team at the same time,” Brandon Valley head coach Derek Outland said. “To have four all on varsity, all at the same time, that’s highly unusual.”

If having four brothers on the roster hasn’t already turned some heads across the state, there’s a real possibility that the Oehme brothers could knock on some national headlines later this month at the state wrestling tournament in Rapid City Feb. 23-25. 

That’s because all four have a legitimate shot at winning in their weight class.

“We do talk about it,” Trevon said. “We just say, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to see four Oehmes at the top of the podium this year.’”

It’s a realistic dream. 

Trason won the title as a sophomore and finished second last year to Moses Gross of Huron. He’s defeated Gross twice this year already.

Jordon placed second last year as well, and Trevon won it at 106 pounds. Brendan is in his first year on Brandon Valley’s varsity team, but earlier this year he took the No. 1 ranked (Gage Lohr of Watertown) and No. 2 ranked (Aidan Wells of SF Jefferson) wrestlers in his weight class to overtime.

“That was it. That’s when we thought we could all win it,” Jordon said.

At only 14 years of age, Brendan had a tough decision to make just before the school year started. Last year he lived in Beresford and trained every day at Legends of Gold and was part of the International Development Academy.

He lived with coaches in Beresford and took online classes through the Brandon Valley School District. It was a practice his brothers did as well.

“It was really hard,” said Jennifer Oehme, mother to the four boys. “But there were kids down there from Las Vegas, Colorado, everywhere. Their parents couldn’t see them if they wanted to. They were 45 minutes away from me. So if I had a night when I just really wanted a hug, I could get there. That kind of helped me get through it.”

Two months before school started, Brendan decided to drop the Beresford route and joined his brothers at Brandon Valley in hopes of possibly making history later this month.

“I saw my mom and dad on some weekends. We called a lot. It missed them a lot, but I got through it,” Brendan said of his time in Beresford. “I thought about coming back a lot last year. I wanted to be on the same team with my brothers. I got the chance this year and it’s really cool.”

Not only has Brendan’s return to Brandon Valley been a boost to the Lynx’s depth, it’s made the family whole once again. And it’s brought some nerves as well.

“We all push each other. We all help each other. But with Brendan this year, it’s just so different,” Trason said. “I’ll be on the sideline when he’s out there and my stomach is just butterflies. It’s worse than when I’m about to go out and wrestle. I’m more calm for me than I am for him.” 

Ironically, for as talented as the four are with a real shot at bringing four state titles home, they don’t come from a family steeped in wrestling history.

Their father, Troy, and Jennifer asked Trason and Jordon when they were just 5 years old if they’d like to try the sport. Troy was never a wrestler.

“We just decided to try it,” Jordon said. “I actually didn’t love it at first. I took a little break from it because I didn’t like losing. But I came back and have just loved it ever since.”

With just over two weeks remaining in the season, the memorable season with the four brothers competing together is quickly coming to an end. Trason is headed to the Air Force Academy to wrestle next year. Jordon will do the same at Indiana Tech.

In the meantime, they’ll be a foursome worth watching in Rapid City at the state tournament as the Lynx attempt to win a team title for the third straight year.

For the four brothers, history is within reach if they can all claim individual titles.

“I think about it every day,” Brendan said.